Sanctuary (Chrollo x OC)

9. The Spider and the Butterfly

Chrollo wandered the wooden walks of small house. Today was a rare day, when, somehow, there was no work. No going to town. No picnic. No gardening. No cleaning. Honestly it seemed like a miracle.

With all this spare time, Chrollo decided to thoroughly explore the  house, an opportunity that had yet to arise in days of past. And that's how Chrollo ended up reading poems. They were nice poems.

But, perhaps what made them special, was the very fact they they were written by Azuma. The words seemed almost to leap of the paper, painting a canvas of stories. But, as much as the raven haired man appreciated these poems...

On these old shelves of maple wood, there was another thing that drew his attention. Towards the back, almost tucked away, hidden from sight--were more papers of what Chrollo assumed were poems.

But--There was something special about these mysterious items--they radiated nen. Even with his aura nodes sealed by that Kurta boy, Chrollo could sense it. Conjured items perhaps? Or nen imbued? He wasn't sure.

But he was about to find out.

The devilishly handsome man carefully reached out to study the papers. 

Before he knew it a slender yet strong hand had tightly grasped his wrist, so hard it might bruise. Chrollo looked at the raven haired woman in surprise. He had thought she was on the other side of the house. Still, at least this confirmed that those papers were somehow important.

"Don't touch those." There wasn't much emotion in Azuma's face. Chrollo decided not to question her, and nodded. She let go of his wrist and sighed. "Sorry." She gestured to the bruise forming on his wrist.

Chrollo shook his head. "Don't mind it, I shouldn't have been messing with your things anyway." He shouldn't have...but hey, since when do thieves follow rules? Although Chrollo said that, in truth he was already planning on ways to access the papers without Azuma's notice.

Azuma usually went to sleep by nine, a hour after sundown, if he could mange to enter this room at ten without waking her up, he'd easily be able to see what those papers were, and whatever secrets they concealed.

They say curiosity killed the cat.

Azuma tugged on his sleeve. "Follow me." Chrollo swung his questioning obsidian eyes onto her. "To apply salve, it's the least I can do."

He nodded in acknowledgment.

However, as Azuma proceeded to rub salve on his already bruising wrist, her hair lightly brushing his arm...he did feel a bit guilty about his plans. Just a bit. 

It shouldn't mean anything to significant.

-

Chrollo watched too moon reach halfway up the sky,the light had all faded, the sun was long gone behind the mountains, it should be time by now. With a soft groan Chrollo lifted himself out of bed, letting the blankets fall of his chiseled figure. 

Chrollo sighed. He had underestimated how much he would long for the warmth of those blankets.

Careful steps sounded softly on the wooden floors, hardly louder than a mouse. The raven haired man eventually reached his destination. The room from earlier that day. Everything looked the same. The shelves, the small table, the wooden chair.

As Chrollo approached the shelves, he noticed something he hadn't noticed before. On the small table lay a familiar looking book. A leather bound picture book. The Spider and the Butterfly. Chrollo dusted his hand over the cover. The title rung a familiar bell in his mind...when had he heard that before?